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Murder witness beaten to death in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia police say a witness in a murder case was beaten to death Saturday night.

A half-dozen men attacked 26-year-old Akeel Prout in a west Philadelphia neighborhood late Saturday, punching and stomping him before robbing him and fleeing.

Prout witnessed the October 2011 homicide of a schoolteacher killed by a stray bullet. Prout initially identified the gunman as 19-year-old Daniel Shelley, but recanted at Shelley's preliminary hearing, testifying he did not know the defendant and had never seen him.

Prosecutors still plan to use Prout's initial statement at trial.

It's not clear if Prout's death is related to his testimony in the 2011 case.